Who says Star Trek fan films are dead? Certainly not I! And certainly not the 2019 BJO AWARD winners, which included a number of first-time Star Trek fan filmmakers and their projects…along with winners who are veterans in the community.
The annual Bjo Awards show takes place each each at the TREKLANTA convention in Atlanta, which celebrates Star Trek in general and Star Trek fan films specifically. A total of 28 new Trek fan films, all released during calendar year 2018, qualified for consideration by the panel of judges (view the entire list here).
The finalists were announced last week in 11 different categories. And interestingly enough, over half of the winners (six) were for fan films produced in Northwest Arkansas! Specifically, the fan film GHOST SHIP from Arkansas writer/director JOSHUA IRWIN took four Bjo Awards, and the fan film ADVENTURES OF THE USS PARKVIEW: “THE BUNNY INCIDENT” from Arkansas writer/director/composer KEVIN CROXTON took two Bjos.
Another three awards were claimed by the wonder from Down Under, Australian fan filmmaker AARON VANDERKELY and his team for their NX-era fan films GOOD MEN and THE FALL OF STARBASE ONE.
Of the other two awards, one went to MATTHEW BLACKBURN of California for the final installment of the “Survivor Trilogy,” LAST SURVIVOR, and the other to SHELTON E. WALKER for a guest actor appearance as Commodore Alwine in the two-part STARSHIP ENDEAVOUR: “THE MONOLITH, PART ONE” and “THE MONOLITH, PART TWO” from Potemkin Pictures in Alabama.
The judges this year were Diana Dru Botsford, Andrew Greenberg, Jason P. Hunt, Deborah Stevenson, William Schlichter, and Andrew Wallace. The presenters included Star Trek: DS9 veteran actor Aron “Nog” Eisenberg, Bill Blair, and Nichole McAuley.
And now, let’s find out who won what…!
Special & Visual Effects
Avalon Universe – “Ghost Ship”
Samuel Cockings, Earl Hale
Sound Design, Editing & Mixing
Last Survivor
Matthew Lee Blackburn
Original Music
The Adventures of the USS Parkview – “The Bunny Incident”
Kevin Croxton
Hairstyling & Makeup
Avalon Universe – “Ghost Ship”
Lezlie Sawyer
Costuming
Good Men and The Fall of Starbase One
Gina Vanderkley
Guest Actor or Actress
Shelton E. Walker as Commodore Alwine
Starship Endeavour – “The Monolith, part one”, “The Monolith, part two”
Supporting Actor or Actress
Lezlie Sawyer as Communications Officer
Avalon Universe – “Ghost Ship”
Lead Actor or Actress
Daniel Buckle as Ambassador Sultek
The Fall of Starbase One
Director
Aaron Vanderkley
The Fall of Starbase One
Original Story or Screenplay
Kevin Croxton
The Adventures of the USS Parkview – “The Bunny Incident”
Dramatic Presentation
Avalon Universe – “Ghost Ship”
Joshua Michael Irwin
Thank you for sharing these, those films were excellent, especially Ghost Ship!